OTTAWA, Feb. 15, 2018 /CNW/ - SCALE.AI is proud to have been selected by the Government of Canada as one of 5 superclusters to receive funding allocated through the Innovation Superclusters Initiative. The announcement was made today by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development of Canada, the Honourable Navdeep Bains.

This outcome could not have been accomplished without the generous contribution of time and effort by the academic research institutions, IVADO and University of Waterloo, with the support of a dedicated project team staffed on a voluntary basis by professionals and organizations such as BCG, CGI, Norton Rose Fulbright, OPTEL GROUP, PwC Canada and SCMA.

Close to 120 industrial partners, enabling organizations and world-class research institutions have joined forces to create this Canadian industry-led innovation consortium. Altogether, partners have already committed $700 million in support of this ground-breaking initiative.

The contribution agreement to be concluded shortly with the Government of Canada will enable SCALE.AI to launch its operations and collaborative transformation projects leading to the accelerated development and early integration of next-generation, AI-powered supply chains in our economy.

The Canadian supply chain provides almost a million jobs and makes up 10% of our GDP. Increasingly, supply chains are being disrupted by digital technologies and artificial intelligence (AI). SCALE.AI will seize this opportunity to empower Canada as an applied-AI powerhouse and the nexus for global trade.

Quote:"Supply chains are the backbone of the economy and propel all industries. Combined, AI and supply chains will generate immense business value. Our mission is to increase the wealth and quality of life of Canadians through technology-driven, sustainable and inclusive economic growth." - Louis Roy, President, OPTEL GROUP and Co-Chair SCALE.AI

"Our strength lies in the diversity and complementarity of our partners, all of them, eager to work together for the success of this global impact regional innovation ecosystem. SCALE.AI will empower Canada as a global hub for industrial AI and intelligent supply chains." -Luc Pinard, Executive Vice-President, Corporate Performance CGI

"Supply chains are a key focus area of IVADO's applied and collaborative research activities. Our leading capabilities in machine learning, operations research and data science will equip Canadian firms with next-generation technologies." - Gilles Savard, CEO, IVADO

"Digitization of supply chains require technology integration between AI, robotics, autonomous systems, data analytics, connectivity and IOT. Waterloo is known for research, training, industry collaboration and start-ups in these areas; with Quebec and Ontario collaborating this will have an enormous economic impact." - Pearl Sullivan, Dean of Engineering, University of Waterloo

"This country was built by supply chains, and investments from the government and industry partners represent a bold new direction for supply chain innovation in Canada." - Christian Buhagiar, President and CEO, SCMA

About SCALE.AI: The AI-powered Supply Chains Supercluster is incorporated as SCALE.AI (Supply Chains And Logistics Excellence.AI), a business-led consortium headquartered in Montreal and centered in Quebec and Ontario. Its mission is to shape a new global supply chain platform and bolster Canada's leadership in artificial intelligence (AI). For more information: SCALE.AI